In a hospital or other health care setting patients may be confined to a bed for an extended period of time. In the case of a supine patient, his or her posterior side is in mutual contact with the upper surface of a mattress. As a result the patient's posterior side and the portion of the mattress surface underneath the patient are not readily accessible to caregivers. However access to the patient's posterior side may be necessary so that caregivers can monitor the patient's skin health, particularly for evidence of incipient pressure ulcers and/or apply treatment or therapy which may or may not be related to skin disorders. A posterior portion of the patient that is of particular concern is a “target” region extending approximately from the patient's gluteal sulcus to approximately the base of the sacrum or the sacral promontory because this portion of the patient's body is highly susceptible to pressure ulcers. In addition, a caregiver may require similar access to clean the patient and the mattress following an incontinence event. Accordingly, the phrase “target region”, as used herein refers not only to a portion of the patient but also to a substantially longitudinally coextensive portion of the mattress.
Under existing practices caregivers achieve target region access by manually rotating the patient onto his or her side and, if necessary, holding the patient in the rotated position with one hand while concurrently carrying out the necessary care activity with the other hand. This practice has the disadvantage of putting the caregiver at risk of injury, especially back injury, when rotating the patient, preventing the caregiver from using both hands to carry out the care activity, or requiring two caregivers where one would be sufficient for the care activity itself. Alternatively, the caregiver may use pillows or cushions to support the patient in the rotated position. However this alternative practice does not change the risk of caregiver injury when rotating the patient, and has the added disadvantage that the pillows or cushions may not be readily available and may have to be laundered after the care activity is concluded.